Miguel Liberato's Blog

Create a flower garden you love coming home to after a long day at work that is bursting with color.

Sweet peas are a stunning annual that quite literally descends from the pea plant! They do best with the sun on their petal and shade protecting their roots so do well with a shorter plant nestled in front of them. The April in Paris variety offers yellow and purple tinted petals while the aptly named America boasts red and white stripes.

Snow Princess is sweet but tough - incredibly resistant to drought and heat. These blooms will sprawl out with its tiny white flowers making a perfect base for brighter colors to pop. It also makes for a stunning cascading plant when potted. Put this beauty in full sunlight with occasional shade.

Cinderella stock is another annual to add to your wish list. Unlike the snow princess, it prefers the cooler temps just before full summer heat hits. But it will thrive in full sunlight. You can find varieties in pink, blue, red and white so whatever your colorway, these guys are sure to fit right in.

Blue Cornflower is a distinctive color that’s found its way of naming everything from crayons to nail polish shades. This annual is easy to grow and so a great starter for beginners. A fairly long stem length, cornflowers can be placed towards the back of your garden as not to shade out shorter blooms.

Nasturtium adds warmth to your garden with shades of red, orange and yellow. Not only are these easy to grow but they’re edible! Perfect for the culinarily adventurous and beginners alike. There are so easy to grow, in fact, that they can grow perfectly happy in less nutrient-rich soils.

Begonia comes in every shade and size you could possibly need. They’re a step up from a true beginner plant in that they will need at least a little attention. However, these will look beautiful in a container garden or in a setting they are allowed to sprawl.

Marigold Signets add a pop of cheery warmth to your colorful garden. With stunning fully rounded “globe” of flowers these will happily fill up your garden. The “gem” hybrids are the most popular variety in shades of lemon, orange, red, and tangerine. These are another edible bloom with a slight lemony flavor to add to a dish.

Pansies are perhaps the most well-known for the bright and varied color palette. They come in varieties that offer blooms with a single color or petals in alternating colors. Like sweet peas, they prefer sun but the cooler temps of the spring and fall. These are a ground cover plant that also does well (and are incredibly popular) in container gardens.